this is bbc news, i'm rebecca jones. the headlines at 6pm... the armed forces minister warns the uk will not be able to fly british nationals out of ukraine if russia invades, and says russia's in a position where it could attack "at no notice". this risks escalating in a way that is really quite terrifying. this is the largest concentration of troops on the european continent in 70 years. borisjohnson receives a legal questionnaire from police investigating lockdown parties at downing street and whitehall. in paris, french police fire tear gas at demonstrators — it's after a convoy carrying protesters against coronavirus restrictions made it into the capital.

hello, and welcome to bbc news. the armed forces minister, james heappey, says britain's military will not be able to fly uk nationals out of ukraine as it did in afghanistan. the united states has warned a russian invasion could come "at any time". moscow has repeatedly denied planning to invade. a number of countries including the uk and the us have called for their citizens to leave ukraine immediately. the us has told its non—emergency staff at its embassy in kyiv to leave and reportedly withdrawn nearly all remaining soldiers. russia has confirmed that it has reduced the number of staff at its embassy in kyiv as more diplomatic efforts are made to prevent war in ukraine. this afternoon, french president emmanuel macron and russia's vladimir putin have

re—iterated their desire to maintain dialogue, and in the last hour, president biden has finished a call with his russian counterpart vladimir putin about the crisis. james heappey spoke to my colleague joanna gosling, and she asked him if conflict is imminent. i think there is a grave possibility, and the reason we have seen such a shift in messaging from western governments to their citizens in ukraine in the last 2a hours is that the russian troop build—up has now reached such a point that with no notice, it is possible that an attack could be launched, and the complexity of the weapon systems that are in or on the borders of ukraine, artillery, missile systems, combat air, means that those strikes could be deep into ukraine. that's not to say there isn't an opportunity for diplomacy to win through, but our responsibility as governments is to be very clear that now, with no notice, deadly attacks could be launched and people should leave immediately.

is there a danger of this ratcheting up the tension and may be stoking the path to conflict? russia says claims that an invasion is imminent are dangerous lies. well, there are two ways of answering this. firstly, if russia wanted to reassure that that weren't the case, it could stop sending troops to the border of ukraine, and yet even as we speak more continue to flow forwards. there's now over 130,000 troops around the land borders of ukraine, with thousands more at sea and amphibious shipping in the black sea. but then, at the same time, there is a sort of balance of responsibility. there is responsibility to uk citizens who may be in ukraine. we need to be clear with them what the dangers are and tell them to leave. but that is us planning for the worst. of course, we also continue to hope for the best, and ben wallace was in moscow yesterday and i think he had a very frank but constructive conversation, and both sides have to believe

that we are listening to each other and believing each other if talks are to proceed, and over the weekend and the first part of next week, there will be a lot of people trying to have those conversations. that is the only way we can come out of this conflict, and i hope that it works. just in terms of british citizens in ukraine, what happened in afghanistan was not very long ago, and obviously that presumably will be informing decisions that are being taken around when a warning goes to citizens to leave, and what might happen if they then become trapped in the event of conflict. what would happen if uk citizens are stuck, if there is a conflict? president biden has said american troops would not go in to take out american citizens. you are right to raise that. the concern, i think that many of us have in government, both in london and in washington, is that travel advice from many countries, for afghanistan changed in april, and four months later when kabul fell, there were still thousands

of people in kabul who had ignored the travel advice. but they didn't have, there was no air war going on, so kabul airspace was permissive and we were able to do what we did. this is a totally different thing. firstly, travel advice changes because it needs to change. the threat is imminent, people need to leave immediately. secondly, if there are fighterjets, artillery shells and missiles flying backwards and forwards in the airspace over ukraine, it will be impossible for any sort of military mission like the one people saw in the summer. people need to leave now by whatever means they can, and whilst commercial air is still available. the british embassy in kyiv remains staffed, does it? unlike the american embassy. well, the embassy has adopted the appropriate posture. but my approach of planning for the worst, but hoping

for the best and keeping diplomatic channels open in order to have a meaningful engagement, you need the trilateral engagement with the ukrainians, russians and our allies in the west, so i think the foreign office are brave but right to calibrate what remains in ukraine so that we can continue to play a part in diplomacy. but at the same time, that shouldn't mean to anybody watching in ukraine today that they should think of that as reassurance. they should heed my advice, heed what they have heard from government, and leave now. in a moment, martine croxall will be here with the main bbc news. but first, our correspondent fergal keane is in kyiv, and he's been speaking to ukrainians who have been out in the city protesting, to get their thoughts on the situation. the event was organised by a right—wing nationalist group, along with an anti—zelensky group, but there were people from all political spectrums. this is the first real manifestation we've had of public feeling since the anxiety of a possible

russian invasion has increased over the last 2a hours. and what you can see around me here is people of all ages and seemingly from all sides, all shades of political opinion coming out onto the streets here in a very important place, in terms of ukraine's progress to democracy, the maidan. people saying they will resist any russian intervention. why have you come here? the main reason is to show the unity of the people before the threat of russian occupation. this is the main reason that we are all united. because different people, different political orientations, different political parties — but today, we are all together because we have a threat of russian invasion. and that's why we are showing

to each other and the whole world that we are ready to fight, we are ready to defend our motherland, our country. and that's the reason, actually. yeah, i'm here because i want to show that i'm not terrified by the threats. we are ready to oppose putin, or anyone who wants to invade our country even more, because you know that some regions already don't belong to us. so we are ready to fight with any means that we have. i didn't go into some training, but i will fight with anything i will have in my hands, and i will do anything my country asks me to do. medicine, shooting, anything. i love my country, i'm not afraid. this is quite a strong moment for you. we ukrainians are very strong.

sol so i don't advise anyone invade our countrx _

good evening. a day of high—stakes international diplomacy over a possible war in ukraine has culmiated in direct talks between president biden and his russian counterpart vladimir putin. in the last few minutes, the white house said mr biden reiterated his commitment to diplomacy but also warned of the "severe costs" of any russian military action. mr putin has accused the west of stoking tensions. more than a dozen nations, including the uk, have urged their citizens to get out of the country. 0ur correspondent paul adams has been talking with some of those affected.

how best to leave? stuart mackenzie is looking for flights with his sons robert and stuart. after 28 years of life here he can't quite believe it. this is just crazy, just crazy. it's a peaceful country and in this day and age you are talking about tanks and bombs coming in, this is crazy. i don't understand, and we are in europe. there is a lot to think about — what to do with start�*s elderly mother—in—law, his brother's family also here and his 20 local employees. if there are flights available for the family then that is a good option for us, it gets us out within hours. if that is not the case, then plan b is taking the car and driving it to the border and praying that we are not too late. at the british embassy signs of urgency and departure, no one here willing to talk. the foreign office says it is not in a position to help british

citizens with their plans. nearby, a march of defiance in the face of a gathering storm, a rare display of public feeling at a time when russia is menacing their borders, staff are leaving embassies and foreigners are being told to get out. i have to analyse all the information which we have. touring the south, ukraine's president seemed frustrated by apocalyptic warnings coming from washington. and the truth is that we have different information and now the best friend for enemies, there is panic in our country. and all this information makes only for panic, it doesn't help us. russia's war games in belarus are now under way. this, american officials warn, is how an assault on ukraine could begin. moscow still says it has no plans to invade. joe biden and vladimir putin spent

an hour on the phone tonight, joe biden told the russian leader that if it launched after the invasion of ukraine us and its allies which have swift and decisive action. let's join our north america editor, sarah smith, in washington. what signs are there that diplomacy is working? well, there is a round of calls, as you know, with president biden and vladimir putin speaking on the phone. the us defence and foreign secretaries have been talking to their russian counterparts today. president macron of france has spoken to president putin and intends to speak to president biden later. but that does not mean much has moved. the white house tell us that on the call between vladimir putin and joe biden, the president of the us was very clear that whilst the country was prepared to engage diplomatically they are equally

prepared for other scenarios and warning of swift and severe costs if russia does further invade ukraine. the us have been talking to the uk and other allies about punishing economic sanctions they would impose on russia if there is any incursion into ukraine. i have to say over the last couple of days at the us is now sounding considerably less optimistic about the potential for a diplomatic solution to this crisis and they are clearly much more concerned about the possibility of an armed conflict that could break out, they say, any day now.- out, they say, any day now. sarah smith in washington. _ protests have been held in several towns and cities around the uk to highlight the impact of the cost—of—living crisis on workers and their families. the austerity campaign group the people's assembly co—ordinated the demonstrations, supported by trades unions. inflation, the measure of how quickly prices are rising, is at a 30—year high, amid steep increases in the cost of fuel, heating and food. yet, official inflation figures look at a wide range of goods, notjust food, so can often mask some steep rises seen at the supermarket tills,

especially on everyday items. new data for the bbc suggests that a basket of mid—range groceries has gone up in price by 8% injust one year. our business correspondent emma simpson reports. charlotte jessops, a money—saving blogger. she hosts a monthly zoom session, passing on tips. thank you for coming. we're going to be talking about the rising costs of food. my shopping bill for me and my partner has gone up at least £20 a week. the bread, even the, you know, the lower end brand has- gone up like 20, 30p. everyone's shopping basket is different. we looked at some popular items. take a pack of spaghetti. it's gone up by an average of 41% since last year. a tin of tomatoes has jumped 2i%. and a jar of strawberry jam up by 20%. in the cheapest range, the prices were also up, but not by as much. this is a once—in—a—generation

moment forfood price inflation in this country. this is just the start. it's going to go on for two, two—and—a—half years, probably, as various costs and problems filter through into the system and are accommodated. here in the aisles, the battleground is all about price. the supermarkets are grappling with how much of their costs to pass on, but if they put their prices up too much, shoppers will vote with their feet. this business is hoping to nab some of them. poundland's biggest store opening in nottingham today. feels like a supermarket. are you after more of the weekly shop? yeah, absolutely we are. and that's why we're providing all these new categories, fresh foods, produce. but costs are rising across his supply chain too. high, single—figure inflation is what we're facing. that doesn't mean that our shoppers have to face that as well. so, you know, i'm not a magician, not paul daniels. i can't magic all of this stuff away, but what i can do is work

as hard as i can on behalf of shoppers to make sure that we mitigate as much as we can to protect them. that may be, but overall food prices are moving in one direction, and that's up. emma simpson, bbc news, nottingham. canadian police have started clearing protesters blocking a bridge linking canada and the us more than 12 hours after a court ordered an end to the blockade. the demonstrators are protesting about covid restrictions and vaccination rules for essential workers. the blockade has has affected trade and supply chains. the motor industry says it's been losing millions of dollars a day. downing street says borisjohnson will "respond as required" after he received a police questionnaire yesterday about events he attended during lockdown. the metropolitan police says the questionnaires, which are the written equivalent of police interviews under caution, are being sent to more than 50 people who attended downing street parties that may have broken covid laws. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake is here.

how do these questionnaires fit into the police process? well, the prime minister is now required, as the police put it, to provide an account and explanation of his participation in an event or events. the questionnaire has formal, legal status, the police say, and it must be answered truthfully. we don't know exactly which events the prime minister is being asked about, but among those we do know he attended as the drinks he attended in the garden street downing street garden in may, which he said he believed was a work event. the police have stressed that those contacted in this way it will not necessarily end up with a fine, but they could do on the basis of their answers, and the hundreds of pieces of evidence that the met are trawling through as part of this investigation. what next? the prime minister has seven days to respond. during that time he will attempt to show he is getting on with the job.

at best this is a distraction, at worst a decision living that could seal the prime minister's fate. wales have edged past scotland 20 points to 17 in the first of this weekend's six nations matches. wales captain dan biggar sealed the win with a late drop goal, asjoe wilson reports. well, it's cardiff, with all the atmosphere one stadium could summon. but for the welsh players, for the captain, would that be enough? because the visitors were scotland, england beating scotland. out to the winger and just a gap just a glimmer, enough for him. the genius of darcy graham. you can dive for the line like that or you can pirouette like this. with the weight of the forwards behind him, thomas francis, half—time 14—14. now look at finn russell's arm here. the officials decided the scottish player knocked the ball on deliberately, yellow card. so scores level but wales with the man advantage. dan biggar, in his 100th international, tried a drop goal. he scores the points that

puts wales in front. still scotland ran the ball but only found the red wall. wales won a final penalty and thus then the match. it's been a really difficult week we've had to put up with a lot of flak and rightly so, but to come back here with this crowd and put on a show like that, just grind a result out, just roll the sleeves up, it's one of my best victories in my 100th. wales so overrun in week one are back. joe wilson, bbc news. there's more throughout the evening on the bbc news channel. we're back with the late news at ten past ten. now on bbc one it's time for the news where you are.

hello, this is bbc news with rebecca jones. let's return now to our top story

and the diplomatic efforts to avoid armed conflict in ukraine. in the last hour, president biden has spoken with his russian counterpart, vladimir putin, in an effort to diffuse tensions over ukraine. he told the russian leader that any invasion into ukraine would produce widespread suffering and diminish russia's standing globally and that there would be a "decisive and swift" response. russia has denied any attack is imminent and accused the us of waging a propaganda campaign. earlier, my colleague lewis vaughanjones spoke to sergei markov — former member of the dumas and aide to president vladimir putin — and asked him if the russian troops on the border will invade ukraine. no. so that there are no circumstances under which those troops will invade ukraine? if they will recognise the republics

and the kyiv regime start aggression against them, probably the russian army will have to crush them. but it will not be so much an invasion, but more liberation of the eastern region so far. so you're saying if those russian troops crossed the border, it wouldn't be an invasion, it would be a liberation? is that what you're saying? yes, a liberation if the kyiv regime will start attacking against us. but ukraine is its own sovereign nation, do not recognise that? no — no, ukraine is not a sovereign nation now, because ukraine has no ukrainian government. the government of ukraine is controlled by the united states of america. it's a puppet regime, classical pulpit regime. ukraine is its own sovereign nation

— and if you fail to recognise... no! so you don't recognise ukraine as its own country, its own nation? ukraine is a country, but it is a country where the united states have a strong democratically—elected president eight years ago impose an illegal regime to the ukrainian people. liberation is for all those who oppose support democracy. probably great britain, if you want, also can play some role and help to minimise participation. ok, so the democratic government in ukraine, in your eyes, is not democratic, and therefore, you want to see it toppled? those elections have been conducted in the situation of total political repression against their opponents. again, i can give you

a very simple example — can you imagine that the people in ukraine who mostly speak russian, something like 75%, you can go to another region where 75—80% of the people speak russian — can you believe that these people can voluntarily, democratically support the country whose language they speak? i still don't understand what you want to do. do you want russia to overthrow the ukrainian government? i think the ukrainian citizens will be very glad to overthrow the oppressive kyiv regime and recreate a serene, democratic ukraine. the nhs has launched a new campaign to encourage people to dial 999 if they suspect they're in the early stages of a heart attack.

doctors want to improve awareness of common initial symptoms such as sweating, feeling dizzy and tightness in the chest. jon donnison reports. a new tv ad urging people to look out for the early signs of a heart attack. a feeling of unease. but a poll of 2,000 people carried out for the launch of this nhs campaign found that fewer than half those asked knew to dial 999 if they or a loved one were experiencing some of the more vague symptoms, such as sweating, light—headedness or feeling weak and uneasy. if people are suffering a heart attack, the earlier they call for help the better. there is a phrase amongst cardiologists which is "time is muscle". the longer you leave things, the more likely people are to suffer from a bigger heart attack which is likely to have a greater impact in their life going forward. so the sooner they call for help, the better.

and nhs figures bear that out. each year in england, there are more than 80,000 hospital admissions for heart attacks. the overall survival rate is around seven out of ten people, but that rises to nine out of ten people for those who seek early hospital treatment. the doctors behind this new campaign say that a heart attack is always a medical emergency and that it is never too early to call 999 and seek advice. john donnison, bbc news. environmental campaigners say nearly a 100 endangered species in england have seen their prospects of survival improve, thanks to a nationwide rescue effort. the blacktailed godwit, the barberry carpet moth and the little whirlpool ramshorn snail are among those helped by the back from the brink project. nearly 60,000 volunteers took part in the campaign, helping to monitor the species and plant shrubs to help create more habitats.

time for a look at the weather with tomasz schafernaker. hello. a little bit of brightness to end the day across some parts of the country. but overall, it was a cloudy day with rain at times, and the week ahead is also looking very unsettled, as this powerfuljet stream is expected to send multiple areas of low pressure in our direction — that means bouts of wind and rain, and actually, from midweek onwards, some of these low pressures could be pretty nasty, bringing the risk of some quite stormy weather across northern parts of the uk. you can see those strong winds blowing out of the west — it'll actually be relatively mild, in fact, midweek across some southern parts of the uk, temperatures could even reach around 15 celsius. so yes, low pressures bring wind and rain, but they also can bring some very mild weather, too. let's have a look at the short term, then — so through the early hours,

you can see some clear skies there across some northern and eastern areas, but the next low pressure is approaching. weather fronts sweeping in the wind and the rain to some southwestern and western parts of the country. mild in plymouth and cardiff, around nine celsius, a little bit colder there in eastern scotland, perhaps close to freezing in the glens. so the weather map shows a low pressure crossing the uk during the course of sunday. it will be wet right from the word "go" across many northern and western parts. i think east anlgia and the southeast may have some brightness early in the morning before that rain reaches you later on in the day. and there's also a chance that later on in the day, skies may clear, and you might get some late brightness around western parts of the uk. but the north of scotland should stay dry and bright all the while on sunday. and here's sunday evening — you can see that rain dragging its heels across the south of the country, it'll probably stay wet all through the evening and into the early hours of monday. here's monday's weather map —

low pressure out in the north sea, that means a cold northerly across scotland and along the north sea coast. it will feel pretty baltic, with the wind blowing off the north sea. some showers, for sure, the best of the weather will be out towards the west and the south. here, temperatures will be around, say, at best ten celsius, but six celsius in the northerly, and newcastle is pretty chilly indeed. bye— bye.